Ripon Men’s Shed, which has tripled its membership since it was launched in the summer of 2021, is looking to raise funds to secure its long-term future.
The group has set up a gofundme page and is selling hand-made goods created by members at craft fairs as it bids to raise £45,000.
Shed manager Barry Sutton told the Stray Ferret:
“With the growth we have achieved in less than three years we have the potential to increase our numbers to 100, but to do this at our present location, we need to raise £45,000.”
The charitable incorporated organisation currently rents premises that belong to New Life Church on Water Skellgate. Now the adjacent church building itself has become available, providing an opportunity for expansion the shed’s management would dearly love to take.
Mr Sutton (pictured on the left in the main image) pointed out:
“Our initial membership in 2021 was around 12 and we now have 36 regular active members who come here over three days each week – Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
“However, with our current size and restricted space we are unable to recruit further at present, but that would change immediately if we were able to secure the necessary funds to purchase the premises that we currently rent and the church building “
Workshop space is limited, but would increase dramatically with expansion into the adjacent church building
The men’s shed movement, which addresses issues of loneliness and social isolation, has a specific focus on the older male population, but women are welcome too.
Its aim is to improve physical and mental health by providing a safe space in the form of a welcoming friendly workshop where members can make friends and share life skills and experiences.
Since its launch the shed has been involved in numerous community-based projects, among them the creation, in collaboration with the knitters of Ripon Community Poppy Project, of a life-size replica Churchill AVRE bunker-buster tank, which is the stunning central feature of Ripon’s D-Day commemoration and celebration events.
Members Gordon Woods and Richard Thomson who were respectively in the Royal Engineers and Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers before retiring from their service careers, built the wooden frame of the tank.
Read more:
- Tank takes centre stage as Ripon begins its D-Day countdown
- New Clotherholme plans heighten fears for Ripon’s military heritage
